The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s board approved its largest-ever disbursement (FT) of $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for member countries to boost their economic recoveries from the pandemic. The special reserves, which countries can choose to exchange for currency (Reuters) and are not required to repay, are set to be available on August 23.

The allocation was first proposed in 2020, but the Donald Trump administration blocked it. It comes as the IMF recently cut its 2021 growth forecast for emerging and developing economies by 0.4 percent in light of lagging vaccine access. Those countries are set to receive around $275 billion of the SDRs under an allocation system roughly based on each country’s share of the global economy. Some observers have called on richer countries to donate their SDRs, and the IMF said it is studying (AP) how such donations could occur.

Firms such as Citi, HSBC, and Prudential are working with the Asian Development Bank on a plan to speed closures of coal-fired power plants in Asia by buying them out and winding them down within fifteen years, Reuters reports. They are expected to present the plan at November’s UN climate conference.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Richard Katz looks at Japan’s chance to break its coal addiction.
 
China, Germany: A German frigate was dispatched yesterday on a mission aimed at strengthening Germany’s presence (AFP) in the Indo-Pacific, the first trip by a German warship to the region in nearly twenty years. The ship is expected to sail through the disputed South China Sea in December. Beijing called on Berlin to clarify the intentions (SCMP) of the frigate’s trip for it to make a port call in Shanghai.

The United States expanded eligibility (AP) for special refugee status for Afghans to include current and former employees of U.S. news organizations, U.S.-based aid groups, and other relief groups that receive U.S. funding. Applicants will have to apply for refugee status from outside Afghanistan, a requirement that critics said will exclude poorer Afghans.
 
China, India: The countries reached an agreement in principle to disengage from a patrol post (Indian Express) in a disputed area of their border as part of ongoing talks to de-escalate tensions.
 
Daniel S. Markey looks at how the United States should respond to heightened tensions between China and India in a Center for Preventive Action memorandum.

A new UN report documents how Iraqi authorities routinely deny prisoners due process and legal representation and frequently obtain confessions through torture (WaPo). About forty thousand people are held in Iraqi prisons.
 
Yemen: Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg is expected to be named (Reuters) the new UN special envoy for Yemen after the previous envoy became UN aid chief. Grundberg has been the European Union’s ambassador to Yemen since 2019.

Sudanese authorities discovered around fifty bodies (AP) floating in the river between Sudan and Ethiopia’s Tigray region, some with gunshot wounds or bound hands. The river flows through high-conflict areas of Tigray, where thousands have fled a nine-month conflict between federal and regional forces.
 
Nigeria: A separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, sued U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a U.S. federal court, calling for them to block the transfer of warplanes (Bloomberg) to Nigeria’s air force. The group fears the planes will be used to kill its supporters or destroy property.

Vitaly Shishov, who led a nonprofit that helps Belarusians flee persecution, was found dead in a park (Guardian) near his home in Kyiv. Police opened a murder inquiry.
 
Germany, United Kingdom: The countries reportedly plan to offer COVID-19 booster shots (TOI, AP) to at-risk people beginning next month. Israel became the first country to offer booster shots to people over the age of sixty last week.

Brazil’s top electoral court opened an investigation (Reuters) into President Jair Bolsonaro for his claims that there will be fraud in next year’s elections. Eighteen current and former Supreme Court justices released a statement yesterday saying there have been no documented cases of election fraud since Brazil’s electronic voting system was adopted in 1996.
 
Mexico: A referendum on investigating and prosecuting former presidents pushed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador failed to yield sufficient voter participation (WSJ) to be legally binding.

The Joe Biden administration is planning a virtual leader-level summit that aims to rally international resources toward increasing COVID-19 vaccine distribution and other health resources, Axios reports. It could be held during next month’s UN General Assembly.
 
In Foreign Affairs, CFR’s Thomas J. Bollyky and Chad P. Bown discuss why the United States should make its vaccine supply chain more transparent.